The DocumentThe Document is a new kind of mash-up between documentaries and radio. It goes beyond clips and interviews, mining great stories from the raw footage of documentaries present, past and in-progress. A new episode is available every other Wednesday on iTunes and wherever fine podcasts are downloaded.

To the PointA weekly reality-check on the issues Americans care about most. Host Warren Olney draws on his decades of experience to explore the people and issues shaping – and disrupting - our world. How did everything change so fast? Where are we headed? The conversations are informal, edgy and always informative. If Warren's asking, you want to know the answer.

There Goes the NeighborhoodLos Angeles is having an identity crisis. City officials tout new development and shiny commuter trains, while longtime residents are doing all they can to hang on to home. This eight-part series is supported by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.

Punch Party; Tejocote; Fighting the Flu; Oysters

The holiday party season has arrived and, this week on Good Food, we're throwing a punch party. Hear about an authentic Mexican holiday punch with a key ingredient so rare in the U.S. that its frequently smuggled across borders. Plus home remedies for fighting the flu and a primer on clay-pot cooking.

FROM THIS EPISODE

Punch parties date back to the Founding Fathers. Wyatt Peabody wants to bring punch back into fashion. To make a Mexican Christmas punch, you'll need the tejocote. David Karp tells the incredible story of this hard-to-find fruit. Party hoppers should hear Helena Echlin's advice for navigating holiday fiestas. She's got some ideas for foolproof cocktail recipes as well.

E. Coli contamination continues to plague our food supply. The latest proposal wants cows vaccinated against the bacteria. Marion Nestle weighs in on this debate. Just as controversial in the world of food politics is the issue of genetically modified foods. Per Pinstrup-Anderson believes that GMO's can help combat global hunger.

Veteran cookbook author Paula Wolfert shares the wonders of clay pot cooking. Robert Sietsema gives us some dining ideas for New York City. Plus, K.C. Compton is waging a fight against the flu with garlic and herbs. And Amelia Saltsman gives us a recipe for easy applesauce.

Amelia Saltsman celebrates Hannukah with the simplest applesauce recipe ever. Cut apples in half from top to bottom. Core out the seeds and core. No need to peel. Place face down on baking sheet or Pyrex dish. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Scrape out apple flesh from skins. Discard skins. Mush the apple with a fork. That's it! You can add some water, lemon juice of Calvados if you want but it's not necessary. Amelia uses tart apples mixed with Golden Delicious. Fuji apples are okay but don't breakdown easily in baking.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut apples in half vertically and core them. Place the halves, cut side down, in 1 or more large shallow baking pans, spacing them 1 to 2 inches apart. Scatter thyme among apples. Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil.

Bake apples until tender, about 30 minutes. When cool enough to handle, slip fruits from their skins back into pan, scraping any pulp from peels. Discard skins and thyme. Mash apples with a fork, stirring in a bit of water, lemon juice, or Calvados to help scrape up any brown bits in the pan and to lighten the texture of the applesauce. Season to taste with cinnamon or nutmeg, if desired. Serve warm, room temperature, or cold.

Carlsbad Aquafarm raises oysters in addition to mussels, clams and abalone. They use a Japanese tray culture technique to keep the oysters off the ocean floor. There unique water filtration system keeps the oysters clean and bacteria free. They sell at the Hollywood Farmers Market on Sundays as well as Santa Monica Farmers Market on Wednesday and on Saturdays.

Per Pinstrup-Andersen is a professor of food, nutrition and public policy at Cornell University. He was the 2001 World Food Prize Laureate. Professor Pinstrup-Andersen believes that combating world hunger must include the use of genetically modified foods. The UN has said that about 1 billion people are currently hungry. Growing GMO crops has been banned in some European countries.

Wyatt Peabody is a writer for the Los Angeles Times. He recently wrote about a resurgence in punch in bars around L.A. His family drinks ponche navideño during the Christmas holiday. It's a typically Mexican drink made with tejocote.

Bring water to boil. Add fruit, which has been chopped into medium-sized chunks. Add additional ingredients and reduce to medium heat (approximately 30-40 minutes). Let simmer for several hours, stir and adjust batch for spice and sweetness.

David Karp is a pomologist and columnist for the Los Angeles Times. He recently wrote about tejocote, a Mexican fruit grown in the highlands. While the crop is abundant in Mexico, it cannot be imported into the United States for fear of pests. The fruit is popular during the Christmas holidays because of ponche navideño, a festive drink (see Wyatt Peabody segment in this show). Tejocotes are also used for jams, jellies and even necklaces.

Melt butter and oil in a big pot over medium-high heat. Add onions; sauté until golden, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and herbs; sauté until mushrooms start to brown, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low, sprinkle flour over contents of pot and stir quickly to mix it in well. Add a broth slowly, stirring constantly. Bring soup to boil. Add garlic and stir. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper if you like.

It will smell so good you’ll be feeling better before you even ladle it into your soup mug. If you want a little more substance, you also can stir in some egg noodles after you’ve added the broth and just cook al dente.

I’ve prepared it with a little white wine stirred in as well, but if we’re going for strictly medicinal, maybe we should leave that out.

Music Break: Istanbul (Not Constantinople) by Joe Fingers Carr, 80 Drums Around The World

Helena Echlin writes the Table Manners column for Chow.com. She writes that alcohol is essential to most holiday parties. If your host is running low, be ready to pitch in to help. She has a few simple formulas to make cocktails out of anything:

1. Drain the beans, cover with fresh water, and cook until they are half
tender, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the lamb into 1/2-inch cubes
and toss with salt and pepper.

2. Heat 1 1/4 tablespoons oil in a 10-inch skillet. Cook the onion until
translucent, add the meat, and saute for 5 minutes. Cover the skillet
and cook over low heat until the meat gives off its moisture and reabsorbs
it. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until lamb cubes are well
coated. Add cayenne, the beans, and about 1 cup of the bean cooking liquid.
Cover the skillet and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes longer, or
until the meat and beans are fully cooked and the juices are thick. Remove
from the heat and allow to cool. (Up to this point the dish can be made
1 day in advance. Return to room temperature before proceeding.)

3. Place the oven rack in the second highest position and preheat the
oven to 350 degrees.

4. In a mixing bowl, combine the contents of the skillet, the parsley,
1/3 cup of the bread crumbs, grated Parmesan, and cubed Gruyere, mixing
well. Season highly with salt, pepper, and sieved bharat. Beat the eggs
to a froth and add to the mixture.

5. Use the remaining oil to coat the bottom and sides of a 5- or 6-cup
baking dish, or an attractive 9-inch well-seasoned oven proof skillet.
Place the prepared mixture in the dish, sprinkle with reserved bread crumbs
and set in the oven to bake for 12 minutes. Raise the oven heat to the
highest setting, remove the tagine from the oven, tilt the dish so that
the oil collects in one place, then brush this oil over the surface of
the tagine. Return the dish to the oven and bake for 8 minutes. Serve
hot or at room temperature from the dish.

Brooklyn has a number of restaurants that serve farm-to-table dinners. Marlow & Sons (81 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11211, 718-384-1441) is one of these restaurants. Saltie is a spinoff of Marlow and Sons. It's a sandwich restaurant with a nautical theme.